You can find me in da Beach Club -- COMPLETE!! Final Thoughts UPDATE 7/1 About This Page:

[disneybecky]

Great update!
I love your Ross moment! Absolutely hilarious!

[Crystal]

You know, Ellen always likes MY hair, too! She's so nice!

[mattnkatsmum]

I love to shop. It’s one of the few things I’m actually good at. I have a minor heart complaint and when I visit my cardiac specialist and he asks if I exercise, I look him right in the eye, smile beatifically and say ‘Yes. I shop!’. And I suspect that Mr. Heart Doctor has a wife who shops and who drags him around department stores each Saturday, because he always seems satisfied with my response and proceeds to ask me how many flights of department store stairs I can climb without feeling breathless. In particular, I love shopping malls. They make me feel cosy and safe and warm. I think it has to do with ample parking and a multitude of free lavatories. Having said all of that, I don’t want to shop on my holidays. Why would I? I do it all the time at home. So it was in a rather grouchy frame of mind that we headed to the Mall of Millennia.

In times gone by, we would head out to the Florida Mall, an experience that I do not recall ever being a positive one. There are only two reasons for our ever needing to shop in the States: Gymboree for Kat and Abercrombie for Matt. So when, during some pre-trip web surfing, I discovered that both stores are now in the MoM, I was delighted.

In fact, the best got better, because both stores are practically next to each other, so we were in and out, goodies in hand within about twenty minutes.

British kids, (especially Matt) are fascinated with stuff from the United States. It is perceived as the land of the cool, helped considerably by Eminem and JayZ and other people who have letters for names. You couldn’t (until very recently) get Abercrombie gear in the UK, which makes it doubly cool – hence us always returning home with a suitcase full of A&F tee shirts.

Do you want to be rich? Well, if not rich, do you at least want to make a bit of extra money for Disney spending money? Thought so. I’ll let you into a secret. A new Abercrombie London store has just opened and the tee shirts are selling for $50 (rather than $15), the polo shirts - a whopping $100, instead of $24.50. See where this is leading? I see the makings of a great ebay business.

Having stopped off at Walmart for industrial quantities of Unisom Sleep Gels (for reasons as described in previous instalment) we re-entered the land of purple-signed wonderfulness. Our trip had taken less than an hour.

We might have had a rest in the room at this point, but given that I am so spectacularly bad at relaxing, I rather doubt it. My memory is a little hazy, but I’m fairly sure that we dumped the shopping bags back at Da Beach Club and walked over to Epcot. We had an ADR at Coral Reef.

On the way to Future World, we stopped by Canada as Off Kilter were doing their thing.



This promoted the following conversation:

Kat: ‘Mummy, why are those men wearing skirts?’
Me: ‘ They’re a special kind of skirt, called a kilt. Men in Scotland wear kilts’
Kat: ‘Are we in Scotland?’
Me: ‘ No we’re in Canada’
Kat: ‘I thought we were in America’
Me: ‘We are, but Disney is a magical place and we are pretending to be in Canada’
Kat: ‘Do men in Canada wear skirts?’
Me: ‘You know Kat, I’m really not sure. Maybe their Daddies come from Scotland’
Kat (LOUDLY): ‘Does my Daddy wear a skirt……?’

And on this note we beat a hasty retreat to Future World. Incidentally, if someone can explain why Off Kilter wear kilts, I’m all ears. Kat still talks about men in skirts.

As we checked in at Coral Reef, I requested a tank side table and indicated that we’d happily wait.

After about two minutes are names were called and we were escorted to what was definitely not a tank side table.



But the moaning ends right there and then because our meal at Coral Reef was terrific. Do you know, having had two meals on the trot that didn’t really impress me, and having previously read some iffy reviews, I was within an ace of cancelling my ressie and booking somewhere safe, like Boma. I’m so glad I didn’t. We had one of the best meals we’ve ever had at WDW. Anyhow, I’ll stop twittering and tell you about the food.

Whilst we were waiting for our server to arrive, Kat busied herself with the activity sheet



These activity sheets are excellent and our first choice weapon in our anti-meltdown armoury.

At one fateful moment, Kat looked up and noticed that the child at the next booth had a drink containing a glow cube. Of course, Kat wanted one too. When our server came, we asked if we could just buy a glow cube for Kat, given that we didn’t need drinks, being on the dining plan. Anyway, one of those silly Disney ‘let’s make money out of our loyal customers at every available opportunity’ rules won’t allow them to do this. In order to satisfy my daughter’s glow cube desires I needed to buy another cup of apple juice, containing said cube for $6.29 (plus tax and tip), which I thought a bit steep and a bit cheeky. Just as the express train to Meltdown Central was leaving the platform, I glanced at the alcohol menu. The Glowtini, featuring said cube, was only $3 more than the apple juice. RESULT! Glowtini for me. Glow Cube for Kat. Happy Families.


Glowing, alcoholic, peace-keepimg yumminess.

I promised you food, and I still haven’t got there, have I?

Here it comes:

Shrimp Cocktail - served with Asian noodle salad



Steve’s choice met with great approval

Crab Claws served with spicy slaw

So did mine.
Creamy Lobster Soup - chervil, brandy



This was off the kid’s menu. If any of you have a three year old with a taste for lobster, chervil and brandy, I take my hat off to you. Steve and I polished this off and it was very good to our late thirty-something tastes.

Pan-seared Ahi Tuna with wasabi mashed potatoes and soy glaze



I appreciate that not everyone is a tuna fan, but for me this is one of the most delicious entrees, I’ve ever had in WDW. The wasabi mash is simply inspired.

Grilled NY Strip Steak - served with potatoes au gratin, and beef demi-glace



Steve doesn’t say much when he’s eating, but an appropriate amount of lip smacking was audible. Enough for me to assume that he enjoyed his steak very much.

The Chocolate Wave - Warm Dark Chocolate Cake with a White Chocolate Grand Marnier centre with Chocolate Ganache and White Chocolate Ice Cream


‘Yes, yes, yes and yes’, I screamed. Like Meg Ryan in When Harry Met Sally.

Ice Cream Sundae



Same as every other child menu ice cream sundae, but Kat was happy enough.

So, please, if you haven’t tried out Coral Reef, give it a whirl. It was definitely the best meal of the trip for us.

In a moment of lunacy, I decided that I wanted to ride Mission Space. I think the Glowtini had gone to my head.

I did wonder whether I, or my travelling companions, would fall victim to my centrifugally regurgitated wasabi-tuna-glowtini vomit. Fortunately, I was able to continue my voyage to Mars, whilst the contents of my Coral Reef meal continued their voyage along my alimentary canal.

We stopped by Mouse Gear and passed some time playing with Mr. Potato Head.



Kat’s effort.

We then meandered our way around World Showcase, in a clockwise direction.

Not another Viking Picture………..



Before staking out a fantastic spot near Italy for Illuminations.



I don’t pretend they’re the best photos, but they are MUCH better than Steve’s attempts from the previous nights.

And full of that lovely fuzzy feeling that one experiences when everything has turned out just so, we wandered back to Da Beach Club. It had been an excellent evening.

[DrDolphin]

Great update!! Sounds like you had a wonderful meal!

[Annabel]

Excellent update Karen, your food at Coral Reef looked fab, although I'm not a big fish eater the tuna looked yummy. When I mentioned the white chocolate ice cream to Andy, he almost fainted! Loved your IllumiNations pics More please!

[JaimeandChad]

wonderful update! And what a great compromise you get adult refreshment and Kat gets child's toy

[KandJluvdisney]

great update
hurry back with more

[lauren-roxy]

Great update Karen!! I really enjoy reading your trip reports!!

[MontiMouse]

Great update Karen. Your meal at Coral Reef looked and sounded much better than ours back in December. I think we just made the wrong choices.

Off Kilter plays Celtic music which has a pretty strong following in some areas of Canada not just Ireland and Scotland as most people think. The kilts are part of the Celtic traditions so they are popular in Canada as well as other countries that have a stron Celtic following (Ireland and Scotland are the most well known). That is why they perform in the Canada pavilion of Epcot. They are my favorite of the Epcot performers and really nice guys as well. I love seeing them in their kilts !

[gwugirl03]

Another great update, Karen!

[MickeyMAC]

Your food pictures are great. Sounds like you had a wonderful time at Coral Reef.

[disneydani]

Great update, Karen!
Glad you were able to zip in/out of the mall in under 60 minutes.
Your meal at Coral Reef looks and sounded simply di-vine, maybe we will have to give it a whirl next time around.
All in all...sounded like a wonderful day!

[WDWJAMBA]

Your review of Coral Reef comes at a great time! DH and I were just looking over our ADR choices for December and Coral Reef is among them! I have heard mixed reviews, but like you, I'm willing to give it a try! I'll have to keep the Glowtini in mind when making my drink choice, although I'm not sure I'm brave enough to follow that up with a trip on MS!

[clio]

Another great update. I'm glad you enjoyed your meal at the Coral Reef.
Liz

[KrisLuvsDisney]

Great report so far...I have really enjoyed reading it